Dear Readers,
Thank you so much for the warm reception to last Friday’s newsletter launch. As I have you here again, I thought I’d share some email comments that were particularly encouraging:
“Okay, Craig, I didn’t realize you were such an accretion of verbal rumination! As a fellow Christian w/ a BS in English, I really enjoyed your Second Drafts! I’ll have to set aside a ‘coffee hour’ each week to read!”
“Welcome back to my inbox, Craig. It's good to see you. I read every word of the new Second Drafts and learned some things about what's happening in the world and what's happening with you…I subscribed and look forward to reading.”
“Theophilus awaits!”
“I will now look forward to Fridays even more. Thanks for taking the time to write and share, and thank you for sharing with all of us.”
“Bravo, Craig! I’m so glad I got this! What a great tone to set off 2021. Thank you.”
Needless to say, I have kind friends. Thanks for reading, all. Enjoy this week’s Second Drafts.
Craig
PS: Though comments are turned off, you’re welcome and encouraged to email me directly with feedback, ideas, links, etc. at cmdunham [at] gmail [dot] com. Just know that, unless you specifically tell me not to, I may quote you here (though it will always be anonymously).
PPS: Just a reminder that word-of-mouth promotion via social media is the best way to grow the Second Drafts audience. If you appreciate the newsletter, click below to spread the word.
Hot Takes
I must confess I feel relief for the people of Georgia, as they were subjected to an extra two months of campaign ads for two Senate run-off elections due to neither set of candidates making it to 50% of the total vote the first time around.
I also must confess how disgusted I am that those two extra months ran up a combined $500 million to purchase said campaign ads.
And I definitely must confess that I’m not all that happy that Montana came in seventh overall in the Senatorial Spend-a-Thon. There’s got to be a better way.
In what seems a 100-year-old move, workers at Alphabet (which owns Google) have joined up to form their own union. To be sure, their mission is ambitious:
“Our union strives to protect Alphabet workers, our global society, and our world. We promote solidarity, democracy, and social and economic justice.”
What’s interesting—as always—are the details: the union seems to care less about traditional union hot topics (fair and increased compensation, physical working conditions, etc.), and more on enabling “wokeness”:
“As Chewy Shaw, a Google engineer and the vice chair of the union’s leadership council, told the Times, ‘Our goals go beyond the workplace questions of, ‘Are people getting paid enough?’ Our issues are going much broader. It is a time where a union is an answer to these problems.’”
Dues are 1% of total employee compensation, which for someone making an average Google salary—$118K a year, is $1,180 and not chump change. So far, only 500 or so of the 260,000 total employees have joined the woke wagon. (Note: For an engaging movie on unions—of the 1920s, not the 2020s—check out James Earl Jones, Chris Cooper, and Mary McDonnell in the 1987 film, Matewan.)
In case you missed it from last week’s Hot Takes, I noted that the FDA planned to bill over 800 U.S. distilleries upwards of $14K each for producing previously hard-to-come-by hand sanitizer. The good news is they’ve since seen the error of their ways and washed their hands of the fiasco:
“In a statement posted to Twitter, HHS Chief of Staff Brian Harrison said, ‘Small businesses who stepped up to fight COVID-19 should be applauded by their government, not taxed for doing so. I'm pleased to announce we have directed FDA to cease enforcement of these arbitrary, surprise user fees. Happy New Year, distilleries, and cheers to you for helping keep us safe!’"
Reading between the lines, someone may have just been bucking for a promotion:
“In a longer statement, HHS leadership distanced itself from the initial policy: ‘This action was not cleared by HHS leadership, who only learned of it through media reports late yesterday. HHS leadership convened an emergency meeting late last night to discuss the matter and requested an immediate legal review. The HHS Office of the General Counsel has reviewed the matter and determined that the manner in which the fees were announced and issued has the force and effect of a legislative rule. Only the HHS Secretary has the authority to issue legislative rules, and he would never have authorized such an action during a time in which the Department is maximizing its regulatory flexibility to empower Americans to confront and defeat COVID-19.’"
Who Are We? The Answer Depends on Whose We Are
“Most of the trouble in this world is caused by people wanting to be important.”
T.S. Eliot
In the wake of Wednesday’s riot and run on the U.S. Capitol, there was a lot of immediate and ongoing “this is not who we are” rhetoric that rang ironic against the backdrop of pictures and video of the vandalized hallowed halls of Congress.
Five dead.
Dozens (perhaps hundreds) arrested.
A media suddenly up in arms about rioting (so different from their summer reporting of the “mostly peaceful protests” that were anything but, thanks to encouragement from Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris).
A President speaking out of both sides of his mouth, calling for peace while stoking the incessant fires of conspiracy about a stolen election, even to the point of attacking his own Vice-President for following the Constitution.
Crosses erected. Lynchings play-acted. Authorities disregarded and overrun.
I could go on, but why? This is not who we are, remember?
Which begs the question: if this is not who we are, then who are we?
As it turns out, who we are depends on whose we are.
The Monster of Modernity: The Separate Sovereign Self
In case you missed it, there is a much older, much more dangerous pandemic affecting the world than COVID-19. It is sin—that condition of the heart of every man, woman, and child that tells and tempts us to belong to ourselves and no one else.
Our first parents fell to themselves and passed on this defective trait. You’ve seen it in two-year-olds and teenagers, and if not addressed, it grows up into the ugliest of creatures on the planet, or what friend and philosopher Gregg Valeriano—quoting Notre Dame philosopher Patrick Deneen—calls “the separate sovereign self.”
It is the monster of modernity, and we had quite the sighting of it Wednesday in D.C. Like a child removed from all parents, family, institutions, and ethical mores for a majority of its life, it had become what it had beheld over time, not only in our society, but also in the person of our President, who for four years so many have justified as merely being ill-mannered instead of being mentally ill with ego and hubris.
As a country, we have turned our American civilization into a circus and elected to let the clowns run the rings. In the name of the separate sovereign self, we have switched out transcendent truth for convenient options; principled living for pragmatic preferences; and historical virtues for personal values. Songwriter Billy Sprague’s aptly titled song, “When Nothing’s Sacred,” says it well:
People need true love, but chase infatuation
They need a hope, but live on short supply
And people need wisdom, but get more education
People need forgiveness, but settle things eye for eye
People need identity, but are satisfied with titles
They need true courage, but bravado looks sincere
People need a living God, but seem content with idols
People need a destiny, but settle for careers
And the soul remains unsettled
And the world a wilderness
In a time when nothing's sacred
And souls settle for less
People need faith, but place their bets on science
They need a refuge, but stay out in the rain
People need each other, but rely on self-reliance
People need a Christmas, but settle for a holiday
People need dignity, but survive on ego
They need the Truth, but will take an alibi
People need a Savior, but much prefer a hero
Most long for heaven, but have settled for the sky
And the soul remains unsettled
And the world a wilderness
In a time when nothing's sacred
And souls settle for less
And souls settle for less
Perhaps you found yourself watching the video footage from the Capitol, asking, “Who are those people?” scaling the walls and trashing the place. Sadly, and to borrow the words of Commodore Perry to William Henry Harrison after the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812, “We have met the enemy and they are ours.”
But they are not just ours; they are us. When we belong only to ourselves, it is too easy to become subject to those—Republican or Democrat—who most appeal to us with their best populist promises. As Reformer John Calvin wrote in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, “Man's nature is a perpetual factory of idols,” so when we are no ones’ but our own, “those people” in pursuit of their prize are exactly who we become.
Not Our Own, But Bought at a Price
So what’s the good news? How do we combat the separate sovereign self and be the best—and not just the selfish—version of “who we are?” Families, institutions, and ethical mores have always been civilization’s attempt to draw us out of and away from ourselves for the good not only of society, but also for our community-craving psyches.
But if we want to get serious about killing our separate sovereign selves, the key as individuals and as a nation is to repent of our sin nature that produces our idols of preference, and commit to the One Who is wholly other from us. “Who we are” doesn’t matter; what matters is “Whose we are,” as well as what He says is true about us:
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
We live out of who we belong to; for instance, I don’t sleep around because I belong to Megan, my wife. Likewise, if we are Christians, we look not to our political leaders to tell us who we are or can be, but to Jesus, who has made it possible to be God’s chosen as He created us to be—not only to bless us, but to be a blessing to others.
“But now you belong to Christ Jesus. At one time you were far away from God. Now you have been brought close to Him. Christ did this for you when He gave His blood on the cross. We have peace because of Christ. He has made the Jews and those who are not Jews one people. He broke down the wall that divided them. He stopped the fighting between them by His death on the cross. He put an end to the Law. Then He made of the two people one new kind of people like Himself. In this way, He made peace.” Ephesians 2:13-15
In only this way is peace.
Further Reading (Web)
“Capitol Hill Insurrection: The Day After” by David Koyzis
“Failures of Leadership in a Populist Age” by Yuval Levin
Further Reading (Books)
The Fractured Republic: Renewing America’s Social Contract in the Age of Individualism by Yuval Levin
The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution by Carl Trueman
Post(erity)
Each week, I choose a post from the past that seems apropos of something (of course, you’re always welcome to crawl the archive yourself whenever you like).
This week’s Post(erity) entry is “Living and Loving Accordingly,” a meditation on “good Christians” like me who really aren’t. I hope you’ll take the time to read it.
Still Time to Sign Up for “Logic & Revelation”
Beginning January 18 and running through May 3, I’ll be teaching a once-a-week Monday night course from 6-7:50 p.m. for Montana Bible College. The course is called “Logic & Revelation” and will meet in the MBC library or E-Free Church, depending on numbers. Here’s the description:
“Logic is the art and science of reasoning well. Our study will focus on defining and relating terms, determining relationships between statements, and recognizing and evaluating the validity of arguments. With these in mind, we will engage in formal logic, concentrating on categorical propositions and syllogisms, and eventually be able to recognize and carefully engage with more informal logical fallacies in our and others’ reasoning. We seek to honor and follow the God who personally invites us to engage Him as His reasonable people: ‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord.” (Isaiah 1:18a)
Two options for the Bozeman community (sorry, non-Bozemanites, but I don’t believe it’s being Zoomed or recorded):
Audit the single course (all of the content, none of the homework or credit).
By taking evening classes Monday and Tuesday nights, you can begin your work toward earning a Bible Certificate in four years.
So far, there are 13 students and 4 auditors enrolled. Contact the office at Montana Bible College at 406-586-3585 for more information.
Peaches’ Picks
As research for the Do-It-Yourself Austen online group that my youngest daughter, Millie, and I are a part of on Sunday afternoons, Peaches and I are reading Sanditon.
From the book jacket:
“Sanditon—an eleven-chapter fragment left at Jane Austen’s death completed with seamless artistry by an Austen aficionado and novelist—is a delightful addition to Austen’s beloved books about England’s upper-crust world and the deception, snobbery, and unexpected romance that animate it. When Charlotte Heywood accepts an invitation to visit the newly fashionable seaside resort of Sanditon, she is introduced to a full range of polite society, from the reigning local dowager Lady Denham to her impoverished ward Clara, and from the handsome, feckless Sidney Parker to his amusing, if hypochondriacal, sisters. A heroine whose clear-sighted common sense is often at war with romance, Charlotte cannot help observing around her both folly and passion in many guises. But can the levelheaded Charlotte herself resist the attractions of the heart?”
Carol Lisa (Curry) O’Brien, a good friend from my high school days, put her writing skills to the test and wrote a play that finishes the PBS Masterpiece mini-series, Sanditon. The series was cancelled after its first season, ending with a cliff hanger that was meant to be resolved with a second.
Having written an entire second season, Carol Lisa has recruited friends, a few family, and several Sanditon fans from all over the world - England, Wales, Ireland, as well as other parts of the U.S. - who have committed to read and act out her script together over Zoom for the next eight Sunday afternoons. If anyone is a Sanditon fan, she is planning to post the recordings on YouTube and Facebook, so I’ll be glad (depending how well I nail a British accent) to pass on the link when the recording is completed.
Friends Doing Cool Stuff
I first started listening to Charlie Peacock’s music my sophomore year of college (1990) and have been a fan ever since, not only of the tunes he writes and produces, but also of the creative life he lives coram Deo (“in the presence of God”) with his wife, Andi.
Over the years, Megan and I have developed a distant friendship with the couple, and we count it a privilege to be on even the outskirts of their circle of relationships.
Charlie’s got some new music out that I thought I’d share, so check out this first lyric video (a cool medium) for the first release. Also, Charlie just started a Substack newsletter as well, so click here to read more and subscribe.
Skin and Wind Is a Mind Bend
Let’s see where the water goes
What the flow knows about getting wet
A rainstorm of righteousness
Is dripping from the ceiling, yet
Do not fix that leak
It’s all we have to quench the thirst
Of the need to be known
The need to be heard
Sunshine is a fine wine
When the heart is full and beautiful
But hey now, not every soul on earth
Knows the cloudless sky
I say to myself, don’t you dare ever think
What you see will always be
As it is even now in the summer of ‘20
When you’ve still got more than plenty
Time to listen, time to follow
Time to not tread lightly, every night we
Pray and walk the floor
In a vision we see
A hammer and a helping hand
To break the chain, heal the land
And for rain and sun upon good seed
Every one of them a hope
Every one of them a need
There is a wind an untitled wind
A friend to every color of skin
A life-giving hurricane
A just and holy rain
Let’s see where the water goes
What the wind knows
I have lived to see every dream
I ever had when young and full of promise
No clever scheme, no sleight of hand
No well thought out plan
Grace you say, okay
But skin and wind is a mind-bend
Skin and wind is a mind bend
Skin and wind is a mind bend
Skin and wind is a mind bend
Truth and consequence
A boxer in the ring
A prophet and a poet
A fundamental thing
History and mystery
A woman at the well
A stranger, no danger
Now go, this time you can tellMusic & Lyrics by Charlie Peacock, ©2020
Fresh Linkage
How to Walk on Ice Safely - It seems straight-forward enough…until it’s not.
Burger King Redesigns Its Logo - Or at least they say they did.
Let me know what you think of this second edition of Second Drafts. Until next Friday.
Why Subscribe?
Why not? Second Drafts is a once-a-week newsletter delivered to your inbox (you can also read it online or through your RSS reader) and it’s totally free. (Note: If you’d rather not subscribe, that’s fine. However, a la The Peanut Butter Falcon, I won’t invite you to my birthday party.)
Keep Connected
Comments are turned off, but you’re welcome and encouraged to email me directly with feedback or ideas at cmdunham [at] gmail [dot] com. Just know that, unless you specifically tell me not to, I may quote you (though it will always be anonymously).
You’re also welcome to follow me on Twitter.